Basic Blogging Tools and Lessons for Women Wanting to Start a Blogger Blog

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Why Women Blog: Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter is a truly amazing blogger. One of the most prolific and efficient I know. She writes for Beth's blog, BlogHer, NetSquared, and Cambodia4Kids. If you want to know anything about nonprofit technology, ask Beth.

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started in 2001 because at the time I was doing a lot of teaching and curriculum development on nonprofits and technology, web site building, and web literacy skills -- so needed to be keeping up on resources and pull together curriculum materials. I found blogging a great way to do that. My main motivation for blogging is professional development - it helps me keep up on what is happening my field, gives me ideas for instruction/teaching, and forces me to write regularly.

2. What blogging tool(s) do you use and why? What are the pros and cons of the tool(s)?

My first blog in 2001 was created using Blogger. It was free and fairly simple to set up. It lacked categories which was a really important feature for me. I complained about this to colleagues. One of them, Jon Stahl, from OneNorthwest, set me up with a Moveabletype blog in 2002. Then Moveabletype came out as an asp - which is known as TypePad. I like TypePad because it is easy to use, you don't need to know anything about server installation, and it has lots and lots of feature. I've used it since 2003.

I'm late for school pick up and the laundry doesn't get done :-) Seriously, I've gotten work and notice from blogging. I've had to invest a lot of time with it ... But it is paying off. I always looked to blogging as professional development, not promotional or marketing tool. That followed.

4. What advice do you have for new women bloggers?

Don't be afraid to experiment, make mistakes and learn. Try to commit to a regular writing schedule. Write what you know about and love or write whatyou want to learn about.